A data connection for a mobile device (for example a smartphone or tablet) is not always available due to a lack of signal. A user of the device may need to accomplish a specific task, such as navigation or a web search, and then discover that they do not have a data connection and so have to relocate in order to get a usable signal. On obtaining a signal however, it is often the case that multiple applications on the mobile device will compete to use the available bandwidth. This results in the foreground application that the user cares about exhibiting slower response times as bandwidth is consumed by the background applications. In practical terms, the background applications are not immediately important to the user and interfere with the user's ability to accomplish their task in relation to the desired foreground application. Indeed it is also true that the longer the data connection outage has been, the more exacerbated the problem becomes because more background applications will have outstanding tasks, and those tasks are likely to be larger in size and the demands on the bandwidth are much greater.
A known solution to this problem comprises switching off any background synchronisation manually per application before the network connection is restored. This could work for some users who sufficiently understand the technology, but requires the mobile device's operating system and/or applications to allow this level of control. It is also true that in this case, the user needs to be aware that there has been a connection outage in the first instance, which may not always be the case. Even if the user is a knowledgeable user, and the device is capable, this is still an inconvenient and manual solution that is not desirable for the vast majority of users.